In my first Thai cooking class, our teacher took us on a stroll to the local market with bamboo baskets swinging happily on our elbows.

On the way down the little alley to the market, he told us the secret to finding a good Thai wife.

Sneak behind her kitchen and listen to her work the mortar and pestle. A good wife is strong and steady, not weak or harsh.

Good advice, even if you are only looking for a really good dinner companion!

Here's what we will do!

Together we'll blend herbs for soaks, scrubs, steams and massage. And we will give each a try as we relax into the morning. We'll sample health drinks found in the street stalls of Thai markets.

And, after all of that steaming, soaking, sipping and massaging away our stresses and ailments, we will sit down together to a Thai lunch where the medicinal qualities of Thai food will be in the spotlight.

Like good Thai housewives, we will gently (but firmly) pound grains of Jasmine rice, black sesame seeds, barks and dried herbs in my big mortar. Here's what we'll do next;

make muslin bundles of "bath tea" for a hot foot bath,

tuck Thai bathing sarongs over our heads and breathe in steaming bowls of herbs for our lungs and skin,